Brian J Graber LLC is a federal employment discrimination lawyer representing Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan employees discriminated against in violation of Illinois, Michigan, and federal employment discrimination laws. Illinois and Michigan employees have protections against employment discrimination, workplace harassment, and retaliation under multiple federal laws. Illinois employees have additional protections from employment discrimination under Illinois employment discrimination law. Michigan employees have additional protections under Michigan employment discrimination law.

Federal Employment Discrimination Laws

Brian J Graber LLC, is a federal employment discrimination lawyer representing Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan employees suffering employment discrimination, workplace harassment, and retaliation in violation of a patchwork of the following federal employment discrimination laws:

Race and color Discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, (Title VII) and The Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. 1981 are the primary federal employment discrimination laws prohibiting all employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on the basis of race. 42 U.S.C. 1983 is the federal employment discrimination statute used to bring Constitutional claims against government employers for discrimination on the basis of race in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Race discrimination under federal employment discrimination laws also includes reverse discrimination.
Sex or Gender Discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, (Title VII) is the primary federal employment discrimination law prohibiting employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on the basis of gender or sex. 42 U.S.C. 1983 can be used to bring Constitutional claims against government employers for discrimination on the basis of sex or gender in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Learn more about your right to be free from sexual harassment under federal sexual harassment law here. Learn more about your right to be free from sexual harassment under Illinois sexual harassment law here. Learn more about your right to be free from sexual harassment under Michigan sexual harassment law here.
Pregnancy Discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. 2000e(k) protects against pregnancy discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court in Young v. UPS, Inc., 575 U.S. 206, 210 (2015) expanded federal pregnancy discrimination law to include denial of accommodation requests for pregnancy. Effective June 27, 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act now requires covered employers to provide pregnant employees with reasonable accommodations unless the covered employer can prove undue hardship. Learn more about pregnancy accommodations under federal employment discrimination law here. Learn more about pregnancy accommodations under the Illinois Pregnancy Discrimination Law here.
Religious Discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, (Title VII). provided employees with federal protections against religious discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Learn more about your right to be free from religious discrimination under Illinois discrimination law here. Learn more about your right to be free from religious discrimination under Michigan discrimination law here.
National Origin Discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, (Title VII) prohibits employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on the basis of national origin.
Disability Discrimination. The Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, (ADA), is the federal employment discrimination law that prohibits discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities who can perform their essential job duties with or without a reasonable accommodation. The ADA prohibits workplace harassment on the basis of a disability. The ADA also provides some protections for retaliation. Learn more about how to maximize damages for disability discrimination claims here. Learn more about your right to be free from disability discrimination and retaliation under Michigan Disability Discrimination Law here.
Age Discrimination. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, (ADEA), is the federal employment discrimination law that prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on the basis of age for persons who are at least 40 years old or older. Illinois discrimination law provides broader remedies for age discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Learn how to maximize damages for Age Discrimination claims in Illinois here. Michigan Discrimination law provides broader remedies for age discrimination, harassment, and retaliation learn more here.
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person’s genetic information. Learn more about your rights to be free from genetic information discrimination and retaliation under the Michigan Disability Discrimination Law here.
Military Status. The Employment & Reemployment Rights of Members of the Uniformed Services, (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. 4301, et seq., prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against employees on the basis of their military service and military service obligations. USERRA has no statute of limitations. Illinois employees have broad rights and remedies for discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under Illinois discrimination law on the basis of military status, learn more here.
Sexual Orientation. In Hively v. Ivy Tech City College of Ind., 853 F.3d 339 (7th Cir. 2017) the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, settled a split among the circuits holding discrimination based on homosexuality or transgender status necessarily entails discrimination based on sex. Illinois discrimination law provides broad protections from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, learn more here.

Federal Discrimination Law Requires Evidence of Adverse Employment Action

The above-described federal employment discrimination laws require evidence that an employer took adverse employment action against an employee. Adverse employment action for the purposes of federal discrimination law means a significant change in employment status, including but not limited to the following:

Refusing to hire;
Discharge or termination of employment;
Discipline;
Demotion;
Refusing to promote;
Decrease in wages, salary or compensation;
Change in benefits.

Proof the Employee’s Protected Status Caused the Adverse Employment Action

Federal discrimination laws described above generally require proof that the reason why the employee suffered adverse employment action is because of his or her race, color, gender, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, military status, or sexual orientation, also known as “protected status.” Federal employment discrimination laws require proof that “but for” the employer’s “protected status” he or she would not have suffered adverse employment action. Proof of causation under federal employment laws can be proven by direct or circumstantial evidence. “causation” under federal employment law requires a detailed legal analysis of the facts by an experienced federal employment discrimination lawyer.

Proof Employer’s alleged Non-Discriminatory Reason Is A Pretext

Employers can usually provide a non-discriminatory reason for taking adverse employment action against an applicant or employee. An employee is generally required to prove that an employer’s reason for taking the adverse employment action is a “pretext,” unless there is direct evidence of discrimination. A “pretext” is a false or phony reason or an outright lie given by the employer to cover up the employment discrimination. A “pretext” is not a mistake. The employee must prove the reason given by the employer for the adverse employment action is a pretext unless there is direct evidence of discrimination. Direct or circumstantial evidence can be used to prove a pretext. Whether or not there is enough evidence of pretext requires a detailed legal analysis of the facts by an experienced federal employment discrimination lawyer.

RETALIATION CLAIMS

Federal employment discrimination laws prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who oppose federal employment discrimination on the basis of those reasons listed above. The essence of a retaliation claim is that an employer retaliates against an employee because he or she engaged in some protected activity identified by the federal employment discrimination statutes. Under federal employment discrimination laws, statutorily protected activities include any of the following:

Opposing any employment discrimination or harassment on any of the protected statuses identified above;
Reporting any employment discrimination or harassment on any of the protected statuses identified above to internally to any person designated by the employer to receive the report or management;
Filing Charges of Discrimination with the EEOC or State administrative agencies;
Participating in any investigation conducted by the employer or any governmental administrative agencies into any claim of discrimination or harassment;
Testifying in any court or before any administrative agency investigating employment discrimination or harassment.

Retaliation claims require evidence that the employer took some sort of reprisal against the employee for engaging in a statutorily defined protected activity. In the context of retaliation claims. A reprisal means “adverse action” meaning a type of action that would dissuade a reasonable employee from engaging in the statutorily protected activity. Petty slights are not enough to establish a retaliation claim.

Retaliation Burden of Proof

An employee claiming he or she was retaliated against in violation of federal employment discrimination laws must generally prove the following elements:

He or she engaged in one or more protected activities identified above;
The decision-maker had knowledge the employee engaged in one or more protected activities under the federal employment discrimination laws;
The employee suffered “adverse action” meaning the type of reprisal that would dissuade a reasonable employee from engaging in the statutorily protected activity;
That the employer took “adverse action” against him/her because of his/her protected activity.

Statute of Limitations

Most major federal employment discrimination laws require an employee timely file a Charge of Discrimination within 300 days after the date of the employment discrimination or retaliation was committed for the following federal employment discrimination statutes:

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAA);
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA);
Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA);
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (Title VII).

Learn more about how to timely file a Charge of Discrimination under these federal discrimination statutes here. The time frames for filing claims under federal discrimination laws are significantly shorter for federal employees.

Filing Charges of Discrimination With the EEOC

Charges of Discrimination need to be filed with the EEOC. Failure to timely file Charges of Discrimination prevents an employee or applicant from enforcing his or her rights under federal employment discrimination laws. Charges of Discrimination can be filed with the EEOC online by logging into the Public Portal.

Statute of Limitations for Federal Employees

Federal employees and job applicants have different processes for employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. The statute of limitations is significantly shorter. A federal applicant’s or employee’s first step to bringing a federal discrimination, harassment, or retaliation claim against a federal employer is to contact the federal agency’s EEO Counselor within 45 days of the day the discrimination, harassment, or retaliation occurred. Learn more about the short time frames for federal employees to bring discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims against federal employers here at the EEOC’s website. You should review the EEOC’s website describing in detail the timeframes and steps you need to take to litigate a claim for employment discrimination, harassment, or retaliation against a federal agency.

If you would like to learn more about your federal rights to be free from employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, contact Brian J Graber LLC, a federal employment discrimination lawyer representing employees discriminated, harassed, and retaliated against in violation of federal, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan employment discrimination laws at (312) 291-4648, (574) 395-5189, (269) 230-6054, or email us to schedule a free confidential consultation.